1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a load spacer or support of laminated paper used under, between or in other associations with various types of loads such as flat sheets of wallboard, panelling, particle board, or the like, provided in stacks or other load arrangements which includes a pair of hollow cells along each side thereof separated by a continuous slot and connected by a top panel or sheet having the side edges downturned and secured to the outer surfaces of the cells in which the cells are generally trapezoidal in configuration.
2. Disclosure of Relevant Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,456, issued Jan. 27, 1955, to Harrison discloses a skid runner with a slot for receiving a strap in which the runner is adapted to be cast in lead and actually becomes part of the skid load of lead bars being transported. U.S. Pat. No. 2,716,532, issued Aug. 30, 1955, to Wysong, discloses a foldup corrugated board skid runner which is triangular in shape with the tie strap adapted to run inside the three-sided tube. U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,496, issued July 18, 1967, to Marsden, discloses a method of compressing a skid load of material prior to attaching wooden runners to the base and is apparently limited to use with very heavy loads such as metal sheets or other dense materials which are compressed to unify the load prior to strapping. U.S. Pat. No. 3,247,810, issued Apr. 26, 1966, to Sepe, discloses a mass produced strip of metal or plastic having nestable cones indented or formed in the material with lengths of this preformed strip being placed under a load for support and considerable difficulty of placement and securing the strips under the load would occur and there is no provision for securing the strap and disposal of this item could be troublesome. U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,664, issued Sept. 27, 1977, to Daley, discloses a generally rectangular paperboard tube with inserts of foam material incorporated therein for rigidity.
While the above mentioned patents disclose various structures in the form of load spacers, none of them disclose a load spacer or support which is lightweight, inexpensive, capable of substantially universal usage, easy to associate with a load in various orientations and easily receiving the tie strap, constructed of paperboard which is easily disposable and relies upon the unique shape of the material itself to provide the necessary structural and load bearing properties.